Hidden Meanings

Angelnomiko: Thank you, and yes, Draco’s death does bring a lump to my throat but it had to be done. There was no one for him really. I wasn’t going to make up a character for him and Hermione is the only person I like him with. So it would have been impossible. At least he died fighting!



Mary: Wrong on the fake Ginny. I hope you don’t hate me but the Plot bunny hopped and I had to calm him down somehow. I hope you like the conclusion.



Coraline Black: Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed yourself. I hope you like the way I concluded this story.



Lady Darcy: I am so sorry but as I said before it had to be done. I hated to kill Draco off. I hope that you won’t hate this conclusion. Pins and needles, huh? I bet that hurt?



Dee Dee: Yes, that fake Ginny surprised me to. That one didn’t turn up until I was writing it. It kind of makes sense though and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this happens in the book. But see how that turns out shall we? As for Barty and Harry... I think you’ll like what I thought of.



Rowenn McNair: Well, no, I always have this problem of finishing stories; especially when I have to kill of a character I really like. I can’t seem to get the gumption up to do it. However, I had to finish this story, as there were only a few more chapters to go. And now there’s going to be an epilogue.



I know I normally wait until more people have reviewed but I want to finish this story. It has been on the boil long enough and it's nearly cooked. Just one final ingredient then it's finished.



Showtime



Harry was torn. He had no idea how to tell the difference. Both Ginny’s had a love bite in the same place; both Ginny’s had the same birthmark. He was at a loss as to who it could be. Lord Voldemort sat on a chair with his legs crossed enjoying the young mans consternation immensely. He looked from one to the other constantly.



“Harry,” one of them stepped up to him. “Remember how we first met; you asked my mother politely how to get to the platform?”



Another one said. “We shared a chocolate frog in the Library once remember. You had a problem and I was the only one you could talk to about it.”



“You stroked my hand tenderly in the Chamber of Secrets murmuring for me to be alive.”



“Your favourite colour is red.”



“You pretend to support the Chudley Cannons but you’re really a Falmouth Falcons fan.”



“You like my Lemon Meringue Pie.”



“You like to wash up by muggle hand because the hot soapy water relaxes you.”



“You actually do like Potions but you didn’t like the teachers.”



Harry’s head was beginning to pound, all this information was fairly intimate and both seemed to know him well. How could he tell who was his Ginny.



“Shut up both of you!” he screamed.



They did. Lord Voldemort liked that display of annoyance. Harry decided to peer at them closely. He looked at one of the Ginny’s. She had more flesh in her cheeks than the other one, and there was an attractive sheen on her face, which the other one did not have; there was also some warmth in the others eyes. He walked up to her and stroked her hair. He heard his heart beat a familiar tune. He turned to the other and repeated the gesture but there was not that same spark. He sighed going back to the other Ginny.



“I’m pregnant with your child, Harry!” she hated saying it in front of the Dark Lord, but it was the only way she could sway him. She took hold of his hand and placed it on her womb.



The Dark Lords eyes sparkled with a new idea. Harry turned to the other Ginny and narrowed his eyes.



“Who are you?”



This Ginny tilted her head and smiled. Her eyes glittered darkly and evilly. He felt uncomfortable with the spark. She changed and Harry gasped. Ginny screamed. She clung to Harry and stepped closer in his shadow.



“Surprise, Harry!” the true identity of the fake Ginny hurt him just as much as the idea of the real Ginny betraying him.



~*~*~



Hermione looked up into the eyes of the man she had loved since the age of twelve. She bit her lip and was just about to knee Barty in the groin and run to Lucius arms when Barty released her, he threw her to the ground and she screamed. She felt her belly and thankfully her babies were showing a responsive sign of being alive. She looked at him, her eyes sparkling anger, as his actions the past twenty-four hours could have had serious repercussions on her children.



She viciously growled and crawled up; her lower lip hung low, and her eyes sparkling dangerously. She was going to kill Barty Crouch Jr before he could lay a hand on the father of her children.



Lucius and Barty didn’t even bow before their duel. Lucius hit Barty with a Leg Locker curse.



“Don’t even think that because I have fallen in love and am now a member of the Order of the Phoenix I am prepared to fight fair,” Lucius snarled striding up to the temporarily lame man.



Barty charmed a stone slab to ice over. Lucius slipped up on his back.



“Two can play at this game, Malfoy!”



Lucius groaned in agony. He wasn’t young anymore and that really hurt.



“You know only two people have had me flat on my back like this and that is you and Dobby my elf.”



Hermione crept stealthily up to Barty and wrapped her arms around his neck and stuck the point of her wand in his throat. She dug it in hard.



“Let me show you what I’m prepared to do,” she snarled in his ear. “I can be a real bitch if people I love get hurt. You’ve hurt my husband; you killed a lovely nineteen-year-old boy. I liked him. You almost killed a boy I consider as close to me as a brother. But you know why I’m really angry? Want to know what will make me kill you? You could have hurt my children! No one hurts my children!”



Hermione dug the tip of her wand further into his skin causing him to choke. Lucius got up and de-iced the stone slab. He was watching his wife. She was almost on the verge of killing this man. He couldn’t let that happen. She was too sweet to become a murderess.



“Let him go, Mia, he’s not worth it,” Lucius said calmly.



“What?” Hermione said stunned.



“Let Him Go,” Lucius said slowly. “Trust me. It’s not worth it. Come, take my hand, let’s go home and let the Dark Lord do it.”



Hermione nodded but she raised her leg and placed it between Crouch’s groin; she whacked Barty in the balls and as he was clutching to his jewels on the ground Hermione took Lucius hand and they were just about to walk down the hill when Lucius was flung up in the air and then fell down on the ground. Hermione turned around and looked at Barty.



“That does it!” she growled. “You’ve messed with the wrong woman Crouch!”



~*~*~



“But – but why?” Harry stuttered as he looked at the face of someone he thought was a friend.



“Why?” the woman said. “Well, let’s just say I was getting fed up with the jokes; the nasty asides at my clumsiness. I was getting royally annoyed at the fact that everybody thought I was some kind of joke even though I was an Auror!”



“We liked you; you were like my big sister. What about Remus? he loved you! He was broken!”



“HA! Yeah, he loved me, sure... so, hmm, he goes and falls in love with the nearest bit of skirt he can get his hands on?”



“Your Aunt is not the nearest piece of skirt!” Harry said trying to control himself.



“I wasn’t talking about her,” Tonks said. “I was talking about that Granger slut! She sure got over Ron pretty damn quick didn’t she?”



“She was heartbroken over his death!” Ginny exclaimed. “She wouldn’t talk or eat for days!”



“So that’s why she goes and marries my Uncle?” Tonks said sarcastically.



“She waited a YEAR before she even thought of falling in love with someone else,” Harry said. “I was scared she was going to die because of it!”



“But even Snape showed signs of despair when you died,” Ginny murmured.



“Oh Snape,” Tonks sighed. “Snape was the worst one of the lot. Pretending to be evil when he was actually good: that’s hypocrisy you know. I was good but then I realised I wasn’t being treated well with the Order so I changed sides. Now,” she mused. “What shall we do with them, My Lord?”



Voldemort smirked a little looking at the Weaslette. He roved his lascivious eyes up and down the young woman’s body. He would love the idea of her being on his side; and in truth he didn’t want the young Potter boy dead either as he had talent and they shared the ability to talk to snakes.



He looked at the young couple. He uncrossed his legs and got up off the chair.



“This doesn’t have to end in bloodshed, Potter,” he said. “You can still come to me. I will look after you.”



Harry faltered. He looked at Ginny and looked at the man before him.



~*~*~



Hermione was pointing his wand at the jugular; the Avada Kedavra was a little too lenient for her. She wanted to see him suffer. He had possibly killed her husband.



“I don’t think we’re going to be that happy with each other, are we?” she said stalking up to him. She backed him into Voldemort’s father’s gravestone. He was eyeing her up and down not so sure of himself now.



“But I was kind to you,” Barty said. “Haven’t I always been nice?”



Hermione twisted her wand and blood spurted out of his jugular Barty screeched with agony. Hermione’s eyes glowed with satisfaction as she saw the man that had frightened her for months twisting in agony.



“I didn’t ask for your kindness;” she spat.



“Please, Hermione, give me a chance. If he’s dead who’s going to raise those babies?”



“I will!” Hermione exclaimed. “If he’s dead I have everything, but it doesn’t mean a thing if he’s not there to share it with me. You took away something that is more precious to me than any amount of living space and treasure!”



“What is so bloody great about him?” Crouch asked.



“He’s a real man! He always has been!”



She lowered her wand and tilted her head to one side and waved her wand. She wanted him to hear the spell she was about to cast:



“SEVERO TESTICULARII!” she shouted. Barty screamed as he felt his penis and balls detach itself from his skin. The pain caused him to sweat. “Now you have nothing that would be of use to me!”



“BITCH!” Barty screamed.



“No one calls her that whilst I’m around,” a silky voice growled. “She was more lenient than I would have been.”



Hermione looked up and saw Severus looming over Barty. He turned around and glanced at her.



“Go down the hill and tend to Lucius,” he said. He looked at her and sighed. He couldn’t help it; he was still in love with her.



Hermione saw his eyes and knew that he was still holding a candle for her despite having Lily. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his arm.



“If you love me, play with him before you kill him. I want to know that he truly suffered.”



Severus sighed. What had Barty done to this sweet woman to turn her into a bloodthirsty maniac?



“Go to Lucius, Hermione,” he said. “Love is more what you’re best at. Leave the hate to me.”



Hermione tiptoed up, turning him around at the same time and placed her lips on his. “It could have been us, couldn’t it?” she asked.



“Just go!” he said.



Hermione ran down the hill. She shook Lucius and a mumble escaped his lips, thank Merlin he was still alive! She laid his head on her lap and stroked his hair away from his face. She leant down and placed her lips on his and she began to cry. Tears fell onto his lips and she saw his lower lip move under the top lip as he sucked it up taking in its tangy salt taste. It was enough to wake him up.



“Mia?” he said croaking. “What’s going on?”



“Severus is fighting Crouch,” Hermione said.



“What?” he said squinting his eyes. He used his elbows to lever himself up. “No,” he said. “Not Severus. I have to go to help him!”



He got up on his feet and was about to climb up the hill but he staggered and fell, Hermione noticed and ran up to him. She caught him before he landed on the grass.



“Let’s go back to Grimmauld Place, Lucius.”



“Must help Severus,” he wheezed out. “I won’t stand by and let my little brother get hurt!”

Hermione lowered her arms and looked at him in the eyes.



“Then we’ll both go and help,” Hermione said. “If he’s your brother then he’s my brother to.”



Lucius smiled tucking a coil of golden hair behind her ear.



“It’s showtime!”



~*~*~



Harry was pacing around the Dark Lords living room. He was smiling a little. He was watching the young man’s troubled mind whirring away at this thought. He smiled at the red haired young woman. At least the son had more sense than the father; the son preferred the taste of purity to the taste of grit.



“Sorry,” Harry said. He threw his wand away and got down on his knees. He turned to look at Ginny and she nodded. She rubbed her stomach as she watched her fiancé kneel on the ground. “I have to follow my heart. My heart say’s that I can never follow you. You killed my parents; you turn ordinary decent individuals into mass murderers. You have caused so much pain and misery to people that didn’t deserve it. You’re going to have to kill me!”



“Kill you?” Voldemort hissed coldly. “What about this pretty young woman here. The one that has your child in her womb, you and I both know the pain of what its like not to be raised by a father. Why give your child that same unneeded agony? Why cause this young beautiful woman’s heart to break for no reason?”



“I can survive,” Ginny said.



“Why ‘just survive’ when you can live, Ginevra? Isn’t he the one thing that you always wanted? Didn’t you pretend to be married to him when you were a child? I’d love to see such a bright, young couple thrive and live. Why die, Harry, when there is so much life before you?”



“I can’t live under your thumb; you can’t live properly with me around either,” Harry answered. “One of us has to go. I am prepared to sit and let you kill me. I love Ginny, yes, and I have always wanted to be a father but for this I am prepared to die!”



Lord Voldemort narrowed his eyes. He walked around the young man speculatively. He was more of a man than his father ever was. Harry Potter was a formidable enemy but he had such great potential to be his, Voldemort’s, assistant and possible son.



“I am, for the first time in my life wondering why I can not kill you,” Voldemort pondered. Tonks narrowed her eyes at her Master. What was he playing at?



Harry looked at the Dark Lord confusion were in his eyes as well. Ginny looked at Tonks who was stealthily creeping up to Harry, Ginny narrowed her eyes and whipped her wand out. She hexed the metamorphmagi. Tonks slammed against the wall and slid down unconscious. The Dark Lord watched as the young Witch flick her wand and the killing curse strike the Witch.



“Hmm, she was getting in the way anyway!”



Ginny stepped in front of Harry snarling. “Harry might be prepared to sit down and die but I am not prepared to stand and watch. If you want to kill him then you can kill me first!”



Lord Voldemort considered this. He nodded his head.



“Pity, why is it always the ones with potential are the ones that won’t listen to reason?”



He flicked his wand at the red haired Witch but Harry had got up and threw her out of the way. A flash of green light hit Harry but rebounded off him and landed on the Dark Lord. A misty green heart floated up in the air and Voldemort screamed in absolute agony!



The mist dispersed and floated down in a vortex, it was being sucked into Voldemort’s mouth. When the heart had been completely taken and the atmosphere cleared up a little Harry noticed that the Dark Lord was lying still on the floor. He tentatively walked up to the Dark Lord and prodded him with his toe. Harry picked up his wand and found an axe. He lifted the axe and chopped off his head to make sure that he was properly gone this time.



~*~*~



Hermione and Lucius joined Severus at the top of the hill. They stood either side of the raven-haired man and looked at the pitiless being before them.



“You are a dead man now, Crouch!” Lucius exclaimed. Severus restrained himself from shaking his head and sighing exasperatedly. He had thought that they would run when they had the chance. He looked at Lucius who nodded his head.



“I am not going to let you get hurt Severus. You’ve always been a brother to me.”



“And you’ve always been like an Uncle to me,” Hermione said. Severus looked at the young woman. Her warm eyes looked up at him tenderly.



“Then lets do this!” Severus exclaimed.



All three pointed their wands at the misbegotten toad before them and each fired the Avada Kedavra curse at him. Bartemius Crouch Jr was definitely and irrevocably dead!



It took all of Lucius energy and now he was zapped out. He fainted on the floor. Severus and Hermione were thinking of apparating with him but a fizzling pop was heard coming from behind Hermione’s back.



They turned around and Harry had apparated with Ginny in his arms. He looked at the trio at the top of the hill. He gasped; out of breath and heartbroken.



“I am going to tell you something but this must never get back to Remus,” he said stooping down and laying Ginny by Lucius side. “Tonks wasn’t killed she had been alive all this time; she was, in fact, a Death Eater!”



“What?” both Hermione and Severus gasped at the same time. Harry nodded.



“It’s true,” he gasped. “But Ginny had killed her; like I said though, Remus should never know!” Hermione and Severus both nodded their heads. It would possibly kill Remus to know that his lover had betrayed him right at the end. Harry sighed. “She’s not the only one that’s dead though. Draco was killed. I got there too late.” Tears were rolling down his cheeks. “My father would never have gotten there too late!”



Severus hung his head biting back the tears. He loved Draco like he was a nephew.



“I’m sorry,” Harry whispered.



“It’s not your fault,” Severus said. “Where is his body?”

Harry told Snape and Snape apparated to the room he was back in a trice holding the young blond to him. He looked at Harry.



“We three best apparate these three to the hospital!”



Harry and Hermione nodded. Harry picked up Ginny, Hermione picked up Lucius and Severus continued his fast strong hold on Draco.



~*~*~



“Ginny told me that she was pregnant,” Harry murmured as he was waiting to find out whether she was going to be all right or not.



“That’s great,” Hermione said. “At least these twins will have someone to play with.”



“What if she’s dead?” Harry asked.



The door creaked open and a Healer walked in. She was smiling. She looked at the young man before her.



“Your fiancée is going to be fine, just a few day’s rest and she’ll be right as a cricket. Oh, and congratulations, you’re going to be a father to triplets!”



Harry promptly fainted!



A/N – Well, Tonks was a huge surprise. But I can see it happening as they do treat her like she’s a child at times and they do make fun of her don’t they? So, she might get fed up with that. Anyway, it’s near enough finished. Only an epilogue to write and it will be finished, tomorrow. I hope it ended to everyone’s satisfaction! Apart from Draco’s death I mean.